I recently decided to ditch my nightstand clock, and use an alarm clock app on my iPhone for that purpose (I’m still trying out a few different apps). My setup wasn’t very elegant, with my iPhone propped up against a box so that I could see the time. I also was constantly fighting a tangle of cords, between my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook, and a USB cord for a few different devices. Knowing that setup wouldn’t meet the WAF (Wife Acceptability Factor) for long, I researched some dock solutions, and found one ended up working well, and that my wife has even been eying with some envy.

If you own an Android phone and love playing games on it, you’ve most likely already played all versions of Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja. Wanna try something new? Here are some fresh Android games released this year! They’re free, and we’re sure you’ll enjoy playing them.

1) Pocket Clothier

We’re all well aware of the type of management simulation games that Kairosoft produce and Pocket Clothier is the latest release. This game involves you running a clothing store, hiring employees, buying new stock and setting up displays. In fact, anything that is involved with running a clothing store is included here. Beware though; Pocket Clothier can take over your life.

2) Oscura

This game by MTV Networks in collaboration with The Chocolate Liberation Front is one of the slicks games in terms of visuals to appear on Android for some time. Evil creatures are taking over the strange land and it is your job to use your skills to restore the light – excellent 2D fun to be had for all.

3) Commander Pixman

Who doesn’t love a retro platform game? That’s right no one! Commander Pixman is as old-school as they come and involves the usual avoidance of traps and killing of enemies over a whopping 135 levels. One of many games recently released by Noodlcake Studios recently, but probably the best. You can play it on any phone of course, but for the best experience it would be great to try it on a new smartphone with high-end features.

4) Tapadoo

Brain exercise games are great fun for all the family and Tapadoo is one of these games. This puzzle games takes scribbles and turns them into puzzles that must be solved by you. These puzzles range from the very easy to the mind-boggling – a great game from Nevosoft.

5) Aqua Story

Fish can be great pets and they are even better when they are kept in a virtual tank on your smartphone. This game from Com2uS lets you raise different varieties of fish, playing with them and feeding them as you would in real-life. If you’re into your virtual pets, you will love this game. And the best thing is – it can run on almost any Android phone, even on those old ones.

Amelia Hunter is from Rightmobilephone.co.uk, which offers the best mobile phone deals in the UK. She’s interested in smartphones, tablets, apps and PC games, and she loves sports.

Even though rising industry costs are pushing tickets prices higher and higher, movies are still one of the cheapest forms of entertainment in America. There are tons of free apps that provide any kind of movie information you seek.

Whether you want to know what movies your favorite star is likely to appear in next or get recommendations on your next DVD rental, there’s an app for that. Here are a few free ones that will provide you with an instant movie fix on Android or iPhone.

IMDB – The Internet Movie Database app offers all the search features of the full site, including names, shows, movies, and even TV schedules. The front page displays two or three of the latest news stories and allows you to keep up with things you want to see with “Watchlist.”

Hitfix – This entertainment news site’s app offers the latest in movies, TV, music and sports as well as feature articles. You can view by category or date posted and can even check out local stories.

Movies by Flickster, With Rotten Tomatoes – Find movies near your current location, check our trailers and read reviews courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes before heading to the theater all in one app. You can even rate titles you’ve seen.

Fandango – As long as your theater uses Fandango for online ticketing, you can find show times and order tickets directly from your phone. Don’t forget to double check the theater’s official site to verify show times.

Get Glue – This social network app lets you share all of your entertainment interests with your friends. Check in to TV shows, movies, music, podcasts, books, even video games. For movie fans, in particular, you can get recommendations for what to watch next based on your likes.

Redbox – The Redbox company, famous for its $1 DVD rentals, now has an app that does for rentals what Fandango does for theatrical releases. The app searches for kiosks near you and lets you browse each kiosk’s inventory. While you cannot watch trailers, you can view ratings, runtimes, genres, cast and plot. Reserve the title you want on your phone to make the checkout process even quicker at the machine.

Carlina Yepinski is the primary researcher and writer for networkmonitoring.org. Her most recent accomplishments includes graduating from Kentucky State with a degree in communications and computer science. Her current focus for the site involves server monitoring tools and application monitoring.

17 months ago I abandoned my iPhone and embraced Android. At the time, iOS was a much different operating system than it is today, and I had grown increasingly frustrated with its limitations. Now, I might be ready to move back to an iPhone. Should I?